Messi and Suarez Punish Liverpool, 3-0

In the biggest sports event of the day, Barcelona simply smashed Liverpool with 3-0 and took a huge step towards the Champions League finals.

The Spanish side was more than convincing at their Camp Nou and was very precise in their intentions to allow Liverpool to attack and wait for the suitable moment to hit on a break.

Lionel Messi and the rest of the squad schooled the English team which had the initiative on the field, but couldn’t valorize that and score at least one goal.

On the other side, the hosts were accurate and did their part of the job impeccably. Luis Suarez broke the lock of the guests, and Lionel Messi finished the job with two goals, from which the second one was a work of art.

The Argentinian superstar scored a beauty from a free kick from some 30 yards, sending the shot into the right upper corner of Alisson’s goal. There was no way for the Brazilian to save that shot.

It was Messi’s 600th goal for Blaugrana.

His teammate Arturo Vidal talked about the Argentinian’s impact on the field, saying that when Messi plays, the rest of the team even has an opportunity to enjoy.

“Messi is spectacular – it’s amazing what he does on the pitch. Today was the most important game of the year and I tried to enjoy it as much as possible.”

Watch the Game Highlights from Barcelona vs. Liverpool, 05/01/2019 https://t.co/vpKUbNZKVD

— GOAL Asia (@GOALasia) May 1, 2019

The opener was delivered by Luis Suarez who avoided an offside trap and in his usual manner, sneaked behind the defenders into the empty space near the goalkeeper area and just redirected the pass from outside.

Before the second goal, the Uruguayan striker reached the ball into the box after one counter-strike, tried to beat Alisson, but hit the crossbar. Luckily for Barcelona’s fans, the ball went straight to Messi who didn’t have any troubles of executing with an empty net in front of him.

“I do not know how he does it,” Ernesto Valverde said, ” but he always succeeds and stands up when we need him the most. He transmits a feeling of constant fear in our opponents.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool had domination on the pitch, but when needed to execute, there wasn’t any energy or idea how to do that. After the third goal, Mohamed Salah hit the post, which was, in fact, the only big chance of the club from Anfield.

Previously, Mane’s attempt was cleared off the goal-line by one of the defenders.

However, it wouldn’t be fair to say that Liverpool didn’t deserve at least one goal. But at the stages like this one, every mistake cots a lot, especially if you have a defense like the Reds, which often knows to oscillate.

Their coach Jurgen Klopp was satisfied with the way his team followed the instructions given before the match, saying that the result is not reflecting the overall situation on the field.

“I don’t know if we can play much better, to be honest,” Klopp said, and continued to explain how Barca’s goals came after some unusual situations, on which his players couldn’t affect.

"What can I say? It was just a really, really good football game and probably one of the best away games in the Champions League we've played."

Jurgen Klopp tells @beINSPORTS he's immensely proud of his Liverpool side despite their 3-0 defeat tonight.
#beINUCL #BARLIV pic.twitter.com/Ktpor652Vy

— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) May 1, 2019

“You have one moment where the ball goes onto the crossbar. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but it was easy for Messi. Then you had the wonderstrike, which was unsaveable.”

Liverpool’s job in the second leg will be almost impossible. To eliminate Barcelona after 3-0 in the first clash is something which most of the experts wrote off immediately after the contest in Catalonia ended.

Still, if there is a team who can do that, it is the English powerhouse, who already reached a 3-0 deficit when they had a more significant stake on the table. And they did that in only 45 minutes.

Of course, we are referring to the Champions League finals in Istanbul back in 2005.

So, there is hope.

The rematch is scheduled for next Tuesday at Anfield Road.